Slow Cooker Maple Dijon Chicken and Broccoli
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Sweet, tangy and packed with so much flavor, made right in your crockpot! It just doesn’t get any easier!
I kind of have a thing for bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. I mean, I have like 135365476457 recipes for it. But I also have a thing for chicken thighs made in the crockpot, so I have concluded that chicken thighs just need to be made in the slow cooker.
They just do, smothered in REAL maple syrup, two types of mustard, and a little bit of orange zest.
And then you can throw in some broccoli so you have your veggies right alongside your chicken.
Could dinner get any easier?
Slow Cooker Maple Dijon Chicken and Broccoli
Sweet, tangy and packed with so much flavor, made right in your crockpot! It just doesn't get any easier!
Ingredients
- 8 teaspoons brown sugar, divided
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
For the sauce
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Zest of 1 orange
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together maple syrup, mustards, red wine vinegar, garlic, rosemary, oregano and orange zest; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- Using your fingers, work the brown sugar, about 1 teaspoon per thigh, onto both sides of the chicken; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Melt butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Place chicken thighs into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in maple syrup mixture. Cover and cook on low heat for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Add broccoli during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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This was sooo good!! Family said to make it again! The butter elevates all of the flavors in the sauce
This recipe is absolutely AMAZING. I have done this before and loved it, the flavours are divine.
I did it a couple of nights ago for some family visiting from London, and they were SO complimentary about it, and asked for the recipe, we had clean plates all round.
If you’re hesitating to try this, just do it, you won’t regret it. I think this is my favourite slow cooker recipe.
I do find that the broccoli doesn’t cook so well, so steam it separately. Served with new potatoes, broccoli and savoy cabbage – dinners don’t get much better than this. I did it for 6 hours on low, and find the chicken is even more tender than if you do it on high for 4 hours.
Can you use honey mustard instead of the Dijon and the whole grain mustard?
I threw this all in the crock pot using skinless chicken, without the brown sugar massage, and without searing it. This made it quicker to make and a bit lower in fat and sugar. It was delicious!
I figured out why I couldn’t pin it. Sorry for the trouble.
This looks delicious. I am unable to pin it to Pinterest. The only pinterest link I see is at the top of the page. When I click on that, it goes to your website with all of the recipes and no way to search. What am I doing wrong? Thank you.
Absolutely amazing! I thought I had enough to have leftovers but we ate it all in one sitting! Definitely going to increase the amount next time so I can freeze some.
My family of six adults loved this. Made 1-1/2 times the quantity of ingredients in a braiser. Used skinless, boneless thighs to minimize fat and the flavor remained. Many recipes of this type do not use real ingredients. This one does. Yes, it’s a relatively long list of ingredients and well worth it. Thank you to the creator!
Recent new follower and wanted to say this recipe was AMAZING! I used chicken breasts instead, cooked on low for about 3 hours, shredded them, then let them cook for about another hour to real soak in the marinade. Then, I made wild rice with chicken broth and cinnamon roasted butternut squash and made rice bowls. AMAZING! Thank you for this recipe and can’t wait to make more!
Can you substitute chicken breasts for the thighs?
This is one of my favorite recipes ever. The maple – mustard – citrus combo is so good. It’s really easy too. Thank you for this recipe! It’s great as is with the broccoli for a complete meal. Tonight I’m dicing it up and making a pasta salad with it. For anyone else wondering, I’ve made it with less chicken thighs (4-6), and cooked on low for 4-5 hours and it came out great. Depends on your slow cooker and how big your chicken thighs are. I didn’t reduce the sauce ingredients though…you’ll want extra because it’s so good.
Looking forward to trying this! Just wondering though if i can put it straight into the crock pot rather than cooking on the stove first? Thanks!
What if I wanted to only use 4 chicken thighs? Would I cut the cooking time in half?
Yes, cooking time may have to be adjusted as needed but without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty at this time. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications. Good luck!
We really enjoyed this: both simple and delicious. It’s something I’ll be making again soon.
Did you take this recipe down?? It was so good!
Hi! I’m going to try this tomorrow morning. Can I use frozen chicken breasts? How would I sear them?
Thanks!
You can, but I would defrost them prior to cooking so you can follow the instructions.
Hi,
If I wanted to swap potatoes instead of broccoli, how long would the potatoes need to good for?
Thanks!
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty – sorry, Menucha! As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Can you use frozen broccoli instead?
I recommend using fresh.
Is there a way to make this lower in fat? I’m going to sauté in Olive Oil instead of butter. Would removing the skins work to lower the fat content (gallbladder issues)?
Yes, removing the skin will lower the fat. You can also substitute chicken breast for the thighs.
This was SO delicious,we enjoyed it immensely,and it’s going on my recipe rotation for life! Thank-you for the inspiration you give us all.